James Cameron Hopes to Shoot AVATAR 2 and 3 Next Year; Says THE HOBBIT Will “Pave the Way” for Sequels to Be 48fps

James Cameron is a very rich man, and as the director of the two highest grossing films of all time, he has the clout to move forward on his next project whenever the hell he wants. We already know that he’s next set to direct Avatar 2 and 3 back-to-back, but he’s been a little busy diving to the ocean’s deepest point and mentoring the use of 3D cameras. It now appears that he’s ready to get going in earnest, as he recently provided a hoped-for timetable of when the scripts will be finished and when shooting might begin. Hit the jump for more.

Cameron has been working closely with director Peter Jackson on his use of 3D and high-frame-rate technology on The Hobbit trilogy, and while attending the premiere of An Unexpected Journey in New Zealand last night Cameron provided an update on Avatar. Speaking with The West Australian (via The Film Stage), he said that he hopes to have the scripts for Avatar 2 and 3 finished by February and begin filming by the end of next year:

“I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don’t want to be writing the movie in post production. We kind of did that on the first picture, I ended up cutting out a lot of scenes and so on and I don’t want to do that again.”

It’s entirely possible that this timetable could be pushed back yet again (remember when Avatar 2 was supposed to come out in 2014?), but it certainly sounds like Cameron is ready to dive back into Pandora. It’s also promising that he’s taking the time to make sure the script is in fine shape before starting production.

Cameron has long stated that he plans to film the Avatar sequels at 48 frames-per-second, and he reiterated this point in the aforementioned interview:

“If there is acceptance of 48, then that will pave the way for Avatar [sequels] to take advantage of it. We charged out ahead on 3D with Avatar, now Peter’s doing it with The Hobbit. It takes that kind of bold move to make change.”

It’ll be interesting to see what general audiences think of the 48 fps in TheHobbit, butAn Unexpected Journey is only being presented in the high frame rate format in a select number of theaters so we won’t necessarily get a widespread reaction. As the Avatar scripts move closer to completion, hopefully we hear more solid word about the direction of the Avatar sequels in the coming months.